Archaeodan

Just signed over my life to Vairo Village! Comparably cheap studio apartment I can afford with my stipend. Included parking, bus pass, gym, outdoor pool, and pets are allowed (personal requirement). Just passed the Arboretum, about 3 miles out of campus. I'm PUMPED.

I got my official university email address!!! It's getting real!

I have trouble accepting that good things in my life are real. Bad things, those are normal, they happen, I deal. But good things? Nope. Can't be real. They must be lies or be taken away immediately. I'm having so much trouble accepting that I got into school and am going and am moving forward with my career. Asshole brain keeps finding reasons why this must be a bad thing. I lost my job because I'm going to school, but even if I hadn't, I'd be leaving this job soon anyway to go to school. So, really not that big of a deal, rationally. But, in my head, because grad school doesn't seem real, losing my job feels catastrophic. The bad thing is real, the good thing is a lie. But reality is that grad school is real, and losing my job is not that bad. But I can't seem to wrap my head around that. Which make me very nervous for grad school (now that I can come up with a bad, it's real...ugh) because there are disappointments and waits and highs and lows, and I can't seem to let the good things be separate and be good. I know I have depression, and I know this is just that, but UGHHHHH knowing doesn't help. Knowing why I'm like this doesn't help, though it seems like it should...nope. (this has been a stream of conscious, thx for partaking, ttyl)

Got fired from my job last week for telling them I'm going to school this fall (which they already knew was a possibility because I told them during the interview but whatever that's fine I guess). Then, they send me an email yesterday asking if I could stay on as a consultant to train the new person on GIS...fine, ok, I wasn't planning on moving until the end of the month anyway...but now, they're having me fudge my hours (I'm paid...was paid salary so hours don't affect my pay) so they don't have to explain to the government that they have two people in the same role. Ok, fine if you want to lie to the government and normally I love a good bit of sticking it to the man, but please don't ask me to? I would like a job with the government someday and there is NO WAY I'm letting this shit job affect my chances. TLDR: my current employment situation is so sketchy and my bosses are having me lie to the government. Can't wait for this month to end.

@suavesana I got my official notice from Boston today. Shouldn't take too long for you to get yours.

Has anyone got any of their travel reimbursements yet? My bank statement is scaring me and I'm an archaeologist AKA way too poor to pay all this out.

MMHMM YUP I AM. I can't finish my term because my POI wants me to come on fieldwork this summer, so I wanted to let my bosses know so they won't be sad/angry/surprised when I only can do 8 months. BUT they decided instead that since I can't do 12, they'll cut their losses and fire me after 4. So like...that's fun. I've...definitely worked in better work environments.

haha psa maybe don't be nice and tell your bosses you got into grad school and are going on fieldwork this summer cause they may FIRE YOU IMMEDIATELY. this is fun this is fine yay

I accepted an amazing offer and now I'm going on fieldwork this summer and grad school in the fall so I get to leave my crappy job and OMG EVERYTHING IS AMAZING (i'm sick rn so i'm trying to remember the positives which ain't easy when your body's trying to murder itself from the inside out)

1a. Research Scientist at a research institute (preferably in Woods Hole) (best of all worlds...get to do my research, travel, and not have to teach) 1b. TT Prof in Boston (I guess that's good enough) 2a. Professional sailor (not like...military...but like...pay me to go around in sailboats all day erryday) 2b. Professional cyclist/rower (turn passions into money, make bank, right?) 3. Artist (considering I'm bad at most arty endeavors, and I have little patience for sculpting which is the only one I don't suck at, this ain't happening) 4. Professionally crotchety lesbian goat farmer (fear me, Pencey-poo)

Omg...after getting nothing last year, the fact that I get to post in this thread is EVERYTHING. I was going into my POI's office for the second time that day at the end of 8hrs of interviewing with a different prof every half-hour, so I was beat and just thinking that this was the culmination big interview/maybe decompression debrief? Nope. I come in and the grad adviser is sitting there with my POI with a manila folder on the table between them. I sit down, we do debrief a bit, and then grad adviser opens the manila folder saying, "We were really impressed by you and we'd be really happy to have you here. You're the first person we've accepted this year, and we're doing so ahead of hearing back from the grad office, so we apologize for the low funding offer. It will go up. Do you have any questions?". Yeah, no, I had no questions. I had tears. And a voice squeaking up 18 octaves while I tried to thank them. They laughed, so that's good. They know I'm a hot mess right out the gate. Good they know before they get false expectations. (NB: that first funding offer was NOT low, still way more than I'm making now, and it has since gone up 1.5x thanks to a merit fellowship so that's...something...omg) (found out about that today while at work and cried in my office right before a meeting with my boss...good times)

Omg.....I got the Enhanced Graduate Scholar Award for Penn State...my funding offer just jumped...a lot...holy shit (Follow your dreams, kids, and you too may someday be crying in your office unable to believe that people think you're smart and capable)

@Indiana_Bones I am yeah, one more. Got my Chicago interview coming up next week. (Side-stepping the fact that Brown is probably a rejection cause I haven't heard yet)

@Indiana_Bones Yeah, just awkward. They told me some info right at the beginning which confirmed my suspicion that the program wasn't a good fit for me, so for the next 25 minutes, I was awkwardly me trying not to rude but actually only kinda interested in what they were saying, and they seemed only kinda interested in what I was saying cause the fit was iffy and so ahhh....yeah, not great all around.

Just had a kinda super awkward interview...that was fun.